Kelvin Sampson Had Nothing But Good Things to Say About Jackson State's Head Coach

Seems like every year, the Houston Cougars are playing the Jackson State Tigers.

Due to the schedule set up for the Cougars’ program, coach Kelvin Sampson typically faces the Tigers' coach, Mo Williams. This season, Williams’ program has gotten off to a 1-7 start, which isn’t how he had hoped it would go, but there is still a ton of credit for what he's done throughout the years he's held the position.

“They’re just getting better,” Sampson said. “We play them just about every year. For 12 years now, we’ve always treated our next game as our most important game, and I’m sure Mo will do the same.”

Basketball Success

Williams is an NBA Champion and a Jackson native who probably couldn’t have imagined he would end up where he is.

“He’s going to be an outstanding coach,” Sampson said. “I can really see him growing in this profession.”

Before becoming a coach, he played 14 seasons in the NBA, including with the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Charlotte Hornets.

On March 14, 2022, the school announced that he would be the next head coach of the basketball program. This is his fourth season with the Tigers, after stops at Cal State Northridge as an assistant coach and at Alabama State as the head coach.

At Alabama State, he posted a 13-35 overall record and a 12-14 conference record before making the move to Jackson State, where he has posted a 45-54 overall record. There is still a lot of development he is working on as he builds his programs to be among the finest in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

“I have total respect for Mo and all the coaches in that league,” Sampson said.

As a player, Williams made the NCAA tournament when he played for the University of Alabama in 2002 and 2003, helping lead the team to an SEC regular-season title, but he has not reached March Madness as a coach.

Part of the reason it is harder for him to make it is the non-conference schedule the school plays, which makes it extremely difficult to have a path to the Field of 68.

“His season will come down to three days in March,” Sampson said. “What happens in November and December is irrelevant as far as what their goals are to win their conference championship. Whatever’s happened to us up to this point this season, we want to play at our best game Wednesday, and I’m sure Mo feels the same way.”